If you were to look back on a recent decision that you made, a decision that maybe didn't turn out the way you had hoped, how clear are you about why things turned out the way they did?

I recently had to deal with a decision gone really wrong. As I reflected on the thought process that lead me to make the decision, I have to admit, I wasn’t at my best.

I didn't think through the decision well enough and I allowed my decision to be influenced by the stresses around me. That poor decision placed unnecessary stress on my team and on our focus. That created a domino effect that led to events that could have been avoided.

As I reflect back on the moments leading up to the decision, I now better understand what influenced my decision. A big piece of that landscape is the implicit or hidden biases we hold. The truth is, those same influences (and biases) that effected my decision-making haven't gone away. They can continue to influence my thought process if I don't pay more conscious attention to them. Whether and how I bring self-awareness to those influences is up to me. The good news is, we can strengthen our mental circuitry for awareness. We can also reduce the effect of these hidden biases.

To better understand what to do about the hidden biases that can influence our day-to-day decisions, stay tuned for our next neuroscience-based blog from Paul McGinniss, our Program Director and Master Facilitator.

Laurie Carey Consulting LLC

Laurie Carey Consulting. Experience the best of researched based professional development.

Understanding how the brain functions is critical in understanding how to communicate across audiences and situations. Research shows emotions such as stress and anxiety activate the same circuitry as physical pain. This has significant implications on how we interact (or react) with others in situations where emotions are elevated. Understanding more about the brain allows us to facilitate one-on-one and one-to-many interactions to create positive and empowering outcomes. Brain-based coaching focuses on understanding the nature of "threat" and "reward" and how this impacts the brain in day-to-day interactions in the classroom, the workroom or the boardroom.